Asakusa Shrine "Omamori"s and
Other Cute Souvenirs
When traveling to Japan, it's hard to not get infected by the
traditional Japanese shrine culture shopping bug right?
Japan has a variety of very well-known, ancient temples
and shrines where you can purchase goods like this. Truth
is I accidentally found this on the web but it's very lovely,
straightforward and simple in design. So this time I made a
special visit, or better yet a quest to pickup a pack of them
for my work colleagues. The symbol (大丈夫) stands for "the
hope that no matter what we may encounter, at the end of the
day we will be able to hold on and to move forward! Things
such as this are often sold at Shrines and are known as a
"0mamori", a word meaning charm or talisman.
:::Asakusa Shrine:::
2-3-1 Asakusa, Taito, Tokyo 111-0032
# Asakusa Shrine
When compared to the large red festive magnificence
of Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa shrine gets dwarfed by
Senso-ji Temple. It's really quite striking that I've toured
Senso-ji Temple two or three times, but never found out
that was an Asakusa Shrine until now! ^^
In short, you can go all the way from the main gate to
Asakusa Shrine to get your own unique omamori!
# Tracking down our Omamori
After entering Asakusa Shrine, you'll notice it is really
empty and sparsely populated, compared to outside. But
this side still has many things of interest to tourists,
especially Chinese and Taiwanese. ~ I could understand
some of the chatter from the tourists around me and
understood their feelings of mysteriousness about proper
shrine etiquette. XD
After entering Asakusa Shrine, you'll notice it is really
empty and sparsely populated, compared to outside. But
this side still has many things of interest to tourists,
especially Chinese and Taiwanese. ~ I could understand
some of the chatter from the tourists around me and
understood their feelings of mysteriousness about proper
shrine etiquette. XD
# Ofuda and Omamori List
Got this picture after asking the friendly staff!
This list details all the ofuda, omamori, (talisman/ good
luck charm) that are available.
# Details included
At last we've found our goal! At the moment we decided
on this trip we must've not have looked carefully, because
now when we compare it to the photo before you'll notice in
addition to the color of the top knot, the pattern is not the
same.... oh jeez!
According to the staff, although it's not the same decoration,
they are blessed just the same so we can get these as well!
# Our Omamori
Tah-dah! Now for everyone to see, our very own
"don't worry" omamori ~ Isn't it interesting?
After choosing our omamori, next to me two girls
appearing to be from Taiwan, quietly asked
what is a "don't worry" omamori, so I explain the uses for
it and they ended up buying two (XD) I feel quite terrible!
Price: ¥ 500 each
# A lot of fun and interesting to check!
In addition to buying an omamori, you can also spend a
little money to play omikuji, a kind of fortune-telling activity
where one grabs a sheet of paper with a fortune written on
it. The fortunes can be good or bad relating to your hopes
and desires. It's customary to attach bad fortunes to a nearby
wire fence or nearby pine tree due to a play on words in
Japanese. The word for fir tree "matsu" (松) and "matsu"
(待つ）to wait are used to symbolize the bearer of the
fortune staving off his/ her fortune for a while longer.
Asakusa Shrine was full of these omikuji! ^^
# From unexpected corners encounter the SKYTREE ~~
After securing our "don't worry" omamori, now we can
set off in search of our next!
Let's take this road because it has a nice
view of the SKYTREE! Ha ha ha ~
Hope this reference helps you when
exploring temples in Japan!
Got this picture after asking the friendly staff!
This list details all the ofuda, omamori, (talisman/ good
luck charm) that are available.
# Details included
At last we've found our goal! At the moment we decided
on this trip we must've not have looked carefully, because
now when we compare it to the photo before you'll notice in
addition to the color of the top knot, the pattern is not the
same.... oh jeez!
According to the staff, although it's not the same decoration,
they are blessed just the same so we can get these as well!
# Our Omamori
Tah-dah! Now for everyone to see, our very own
"don't worry" omamori ~ Isn't it interesting?
After choosing our omamori, next to me two girls
appearing to be from Taiwan, quietly asked
what is a "don't worry" omamori, so I explain the uses for
it and they ended up buying two (XD) I feel quite terrible!
Price: ¥ 500 each
# A lot of fun and interesting to check!
In addition to buying an omamori, you can also spend a
little money to play omikuji, a kind of fortune-telling activity
where one grabs a sheet of paper with a fortune written on
it. The fortunes can be good or bad relating to your hopes
and desires. It's customary to attach bad fortunes to a nearby
wire fence or nearby pine tree due to a play on words in
Japanese. The word for fir tree "matsu" (松) and "matsu"
(待つ）to wait are used to symbolize the bearer of the
fortune staving off his/ her fortune for a while longer.
Asakusa Shrine was full of these omikuji! ^^
# From unexpected corners encounter the SKYTREE ~~
After securing our "don't worry" omamori, now we can
set off in search of our next!
Let's take this road because it has a nice
view of the SKYTREE! Ha ha ha ~
Hope this reference helps you when
exploring temples in Japan!
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